Paul Douglas Hilton

“Be positive and when you receive the bowel cancer screening kit treat this as urgent”

in September 2013 Paul Douglas Hilton, 63, from Radcliffe received a bowel cancer stool test kit and like many people put it in the drawer and thought he would do the test later, this turned out to be a month later.

The test results came back inconclusive, so further tests were done and they found numerous polyps and cancer in the sigmoid area of his colon.

An appointment was made for him to have keyhole surgery to remove the cancer. He arrived at North Manchester General Hospital in preparation for his operation.

“I walked with the nurse down to the operating theatre, where I met the theatre nurse, anaesthetist, and stoma nurse. I felt very confident at this time,” he says.

He was taken to the pre-op theatre and sedated ready for his operation and eight hours later he came round in the recovery room feeling fine and without pain. His family visited and were very pleased to see how well he looked.

“The only time I recall feeling pain and discomfort was my first steps out of bed, swelling around my thigh area and the removal of the catheter,” he says.

A few weeks later he received the results of his operation. The area surrounding the cancer was tested and found to be clear and he was told no further treatment would be needed.

“This was the first time I felt real emotion throughout all this process knowing that I no longer had cancer,” he says. “If I can offer advice to anyone who may have to go through my experience, be positive and when you receive the Bowel Cancer Screening kit treat this as urgent.”

Mr Hilton says he would like to thank his family for being so supportive and the “5 star NHS” team who treated him.